The Carver's Magic (21 page)

Somehow my day keeps getting worse. The Carver Maker. I was bonded to the Carver Maker’s daughter? Grandaughter? Wait how old was the Carver Maker? That would make Cory a descendant of a fairy, not a half-blood per se. I shook my head, pulling at the fire that was starting to attach itself to my skin. I could feel it radiating. Now was not the time to tip the balance of my control. I reminded myself that now was not the time to analyze her heritage. Although, I hate to admit, I do like puzzles.

I reached between Cory and Antrom, using my leg I wrapped it over his leg and pushed him back. He fell with a thud. I grabbed Cory, she was as stiff as a frozen log. I let my fire surround us, but it was difficult because it wanted to explode out of me.

Cory still had not moved a muscle, alerting me that someone had used their magic against her. I turned around looking for the culprit and the fairy behind me threw a knife directly at my chest. The iron in the blade was alive, soaring towards me, through my fire. I held out my hand using it so the blade would think it completed its mission once it slide through skin, bone and blood. It wasn’t the first time I’ve been stabbed, so the pain screaming up my arm didn’t cripple me. I pushed my fire out wider, for the space, so I could stand up Tree Trunk Cory and pull out the damn knife.

The pain grated while I pulled out the knife. My fire was changing colors. Something I had never seen before.

Thankfully, once the knife was out, all that was left was a small grey line on my palm. Ash. All metal wounds healed instantly once they were removed. Instead of a scab, my body produced ash to heal.

With a simple thought I took control of the knife and directed it towards the stained glass ceiling, shattering the glass. When the glass descended Cory finally faltered out of the hold one of the guards had on her. The glass distracted them perfectly. I extinguished my ring of fire, and pushed our way towards the doors. I couldn’t teleport in or out of this forsaken place, which was a major problem right now.

Antrom lunged for Cory trying to snatch her ankle. Cory kicked and I slammed my fist into his jaw. Stunned, he dropped his arm, landing hard with a bright red fist-size mark on his jaw. It looked like a massive burn, and in truth, it was. My fire was too close to my skin. I hoped it served as a very important reminder for him.

I grabbed Cory’s hand, burning her, on accident. Gah! I carefully pushed her towards the door making sure to only touch her clothes, just in case.

Escaping the hard way.

We pushed past the library doors heading towards the gate. Fifty yards out from the gate we saw a long line of centurions. The guardians of the white gates.

Cory stumbled as she pulled something from her pocket. I had an odd feeling that she was up to something again.

Ten yards from the guards, Cory stopped to pick up something from the ground. Antrom called out behind us, "Even if you leave, we’ll find you," he said harshly.

The guards rushed forward. I felt pings all over my skin. My fire pushed harder against my skin and my control. Cory screamed as she dropped into a fetal position.

My fire won. I roared, incidentally letting my fire free. I felt the sizzle as it broke through my skin. My fire blinded me. All I could see was white spots. It felt as if I was dropped in a pit of feathers. I was light-headed. I tried to get some balance by flinging my arm out to steady me, but it didn’t feel like my arms.

The white spots receded.

The guards stopped and then I felt pressure all over me again.

They were using their magic on me and thankfully it wasn't working. I tried to grab Cory but my arms missed her. Instead I felt my feathers brush over her.

What the hell?

I grabbed Cory around the waist with the claws on my feet. I moved my fire around her and then pushed it into her using the attachment she had made. She went limp. Shit.

I turned to keep all the guards in front of me. I needed to watch for their magic. I extended my wings and kept Cory below me where it was safe. Then I saw something cross my periphery. A blur of bright orange hair was running behind all the centurions attempting to get behind them. When she got within a close distance she paused, with hopeful and pleading eyes.

I hadn’t formed any long-lasting friends within the fairy courts, I prided myself on it, but Theya was one of those people who inadvertently put a mark on you without even trying. Not love, not misery, but something good. And if my suspicions were right about her magic, she knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew we were getting out.

I squawked and let my fire fall from me as I flapped my wings, raising me off the ground a short way. The fire dropped like little red fire feathers, as I flapped harder pushing them towards the guards.

The guards dispersed, some patting themselves to stop the fire that was licking at their clothes. Some ran toward the water fountain nearby. No one noticed as Theya walked through the fire feathers, untouched.
Interesting
.

Antrom tried to send in some guards and they didn't get far before the fire burned them to ash. I backed up slowly, one step at a time, making the effort not to crush Cory. Theya crossed the gates before me. When I was past the gate I let go of Cory. Theya reached out, pulling her into her arms. I fought with my fire to return inside of me.

After great effort, I pulled back my fire, somewhat dazed from the morph that I had never known I could do. Cory was blinking at me, ash colored and wide-eyed. I pursed my lips at her absurd reaction. Reaching down, I grab Cory's waist and pull her into me. Not because I need her close, but because I plan to teleport her home. Theya grabbed on to my arm before I had a chance to tell her to hold on.

The next second all three of us have landed in Cory's living room.

* * *

"I am so sorry," Cory says, backing away from me. "I am so, so sorry." She says again and I can feel she deeply regretted what she did. Damn, I’ve got to figure out how that damn spell keeps opening up.

Ignoring her feelings, "Never trust a fairy. That's what I always say."

Cory watched me carefully, wiping her hands on her thighs. "I’ll take it back. I have never not figured out a potion."

“What were you thinking?” I wanted to shake her.

“Antrom was going to punish my parents or who ever slept with a human. I knew he was going to force me to take his hand at some point. I couldn’t find anything in my collection, so the only other option was in their library. I didn’t know how I was going to stop him, and by the time I found that potion, I only had twenty minutes to get it done before he came back.”

Disregarding her cleverly crafted excuse I ask, "Are you really my wife?"

Her shoulders slouched forward. "Technically the bond potion is just that, a bond. The fae use it in their hand-fasting ceremony, which is another form of marriage. We’re not married, we’re linked. I guess you could say, I belong to you."

“You belong to me?” I repeated carefully. “But do I belong to you?”

She looked away from me.

“Cory,” I warned her. Cory looked around and I knew the moment she saw the door. I felt a spike of relief. I narrowed my eyes at her, “You’re not leaving until you undo this.”

She swallowed. Her emotions were swirling. She pulled the necklace from her neck, breaking it. Holding it out to me she said, “I’ll let you know when I find the potion.”

I narrowed my eyes, not taking the coin back. “If you think you can run away from me, think again.” She was solid once more, completely in control of every emotion. I couldn’t feel anything but I could see she was biding her time.
Plotting
.

Cory turned, right before the door flung open to a very pissed off brunette. Cory threw the coin out the front door. I held out my hand stopping the coin from going far, it floated back via my magic. Her nose flared and her lips flattened, “I don’t need another leash. There is nowhere to go that you couldn’t find me, Shane. I’m bound to you.”

Considering this was all new I didn’t know that, but I also didn’t like how she was acting as if she was ending things between us. Damn this was getting complicated.

“You’re what?” Beth hissed.

I rolled my eyes before I looked at the other Carver, then back at Cory. I wasn’t going to stay and talk this out with Beth. I couldn’t care less about Beth and how she felt about our situation. In fact, she had a lot more to consider now that her sister was possibly a fairy outlaw.

I teleported to my car, which was hidden at the beginning of the ten-mile dirt road that led to the fairy gate.

CHAPTER NINE

BETH

I folded my arms looking at Cory. “I’m going to give you a chance to explain. But I’ll be honest, I don’t think there’s much that will change my mind. But you should try, because I really, really want to teleport you to a science hut in Antarctica right now.”

Cory’s eyes followed something behind me for a moment, and then I heard the front door shut. I didn’t care to look back around, I wasn’t going to do anything to change topics.

I messed up last night by yelling first when I should have listened, but I was scared, pissed, and ready to take on the entire Magical Council after I found out that the same blood-sucker who broke into our house, took her from work.

That vampire burglar was going to get fire slapped next time I saw her. I looked forward to a hand print welt on her face.

When Cory looked back at me her eyes were guarded, or at least I thought they were. She shook her head and I saw them glisten. Tears? Not fair. She wiped away a small tear and whispered, “I went.”

“I guessed,” I was keeping my voice low.

She slapped her thigh, “I found a potion to stop that guy. It worked.” She rolled her eyes, “Kind of.”

I headed to the kitchen. She might need a drink. Actually, I needed a large glass of fizzy Coke and a seat. Cory followed me to the kitchen table. I pulled out a mug and raised my eyebrows.

“Lemon grass,” she whispered.

I tapped her mug and it filled with lemon grass jasmine tea. I pulled out a red can of the delicious liquid and popped the top. “You used the bonding potion?” I had read about it once, but I had forgotten about it until I heard Shane say he was bound to my sister.

She nodded solemnly, “Yeah.”

“Did you tell him what you were doing before you did it?” I waited for her to shake her head before I took a long sip from the cold drink, “And now, you’re going to unbind yourself from him.”

She took a sip of tea, “I am pretty sure he thinks he’s bound to me, too.”

“Is he?” I took another long sip.

“No.” Her melancholy tone said more than the word. I knew all too well how it felt to like when someone didn’t like you back. “He’s a Carver, he chooses who he’s bound to.”

My anger was satisfied. I really didn’t want my sister bound to that jerk-face, but seeing her face, I felt sorry for her. She was staring at nothing, numbingly sipping her tea. I sat next to her in silence until she finished her tea. I offered to fill it up, but she declined and left for her room.

She probably just needs some time to work through it. I hoped she had a short-term heart break. Mine seemed to be a long term curse.

* * *

Cory didn’t come out for dinner, not that I expected her to. I had just turned off the TV when I saw a human figure walk across the front window. I couldn’t hear anything so whoever it was, was light footed. I pushed at my fire bringing it to my fingertips.

I thought I had warded my house against all super natural, but Shane was able to teleport in without a problem. I ran the words again in my head, wondering how he broke through the spell, but I couldn’t think of anything. Now that there was possibly a prowler outside I needed to find a real ward to secure the house.

I heard something ticking by the front door. I shielded the inside of the house against a possible bomb, or whatever was ticking on the other side of the door. A moment later I heard the door snap unlocked. Crap!

I grabbed the door handle and let my fire run through it melting it closed. I herd someone say, “Ouch,” on the other side. I didn’t know how many people where around the house and I wasn’t leaving Cory upstairs unprotected. And I wasn’t going to fight anyone out in the open. I was already on the Magical Council’s radar.

A thought entered my mind and I teleported to Cory’s room quickly. Instead of landing in her room I was at her door. I tried to open it but the door was locked. My magic didn’t open it and I was irritated and impressed at the same time.

I bang on the door. A moment later she opened the door, red eyed. I grabbed her hand and teleported us to one of our vacation spots. At the moment this was the safest place I could think of.

Cory looked around and nodded, “I don’t think this is going to help.”

I questioned her, “Help what?”

She walked slowly to her room, “To cheer me up.”

Hey if that’s what she thought, that’s fine. I walked around our wood cabin and checked the doors and windows. Then I pulled out a glass and filled it with water. I drained half of it and tapped the top, filling it with fizzy Coke. I took a sip and poured the rest out. I wondered if their drink was magically copyrighted.

* * *

The next day I was gathering a few necessities at the small town’s mom and pop store, when I saw a creepy chick, with short blonde hair and crazy orange eye shadow and matching lipstick, eyeing me from the door. She waved at me before she left me with a crawling sensation in my belly.

I checked out and walked behind the store to teleport to the cabin. I popped into the kitchen and saw the place had been ransacked. The table, chairs, drawers, and shelves were in a mangled mess. Pieces of furniture were spread all over the floor. Dropping the bags, I ran to Cory’s room. The door was off the hinges. I grabbed the doorframe as my stomach free-fell straight to the souls of my feet.

She was gone. Her bed was gone. And there were various odd-shaped broken bottles scattered on the floor.

One
Mississippi
. (Inhale)

Two
Mississippi
. (Exhale)